THE PRESIDENT: Good morning. This past week I was in Europe, where I
had good discussions with our friends and allies about how to meet the
mutual challenges we face: spreading freedom and democracy, defeating
terrorism, expanding prosperity and promoting peace. In our meetings,
we reaffirmed the vital importance of the transatlantic alliance for
advancing these common interests and values.

Now that I'm back home, I'm eager to move ahead with one of my top
domestic priorities: strengthening and saving Social Security. I have
already met with tens of thousands of you in nine states to discuss
this important issue. During the recent congressional recess, many
senators and congressmen have held their own town hall meetings to
discuss Social Security reform with their constituents. For example,
Senator Rick Santorum hosted forums all across Pennsylvania this week.
And Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan held nearly three dozen listening
sessions in his district. I am pleased with the progress of the
national discussion on this issue, and I look forward to hearing
everyone's ideas when the Congress returns.

Meanwhile, I'll be visiting New Jersey and Indiana next week, and I
plan to keep traveling across the country to talk about Social
Security. I will continue to reassure those of you born before 1950
that your Social Security benefits will not change in any way: You
will receive your checks, and that is a fact.

I will also make clear to younger workers that Social Security is
heading toward bankruptcy. Massive numbers of baby boomers, like me,
will soon begin to retire. People are living longer and benefits are
scheduled to increase dramatically, and fewer workers will be paying
into the system to support each retiree. For you younger workers, the
current system has made promises that it cannot keep -- and that is
also a fact. Every year we wait to address this problem will make any
eventual solution more painful and drastic, and we will saddle our
children and grandchildren with an ever-greater burden. We need to act
now to fix Social Security permanently.

As we fix Social Security, we must also make it a better deal for
younger workers. I have proposed allowing you to set aside part of
your payroll taxes in personal retirement accounts. These accounts
would be voluntary; the money would go into a conservative mix of bond
and stock funds that would have the opportunity to earn a higher rate
of return than anything the current system could provide. And that
money would provide a nest egg to supplement your traditional Social
Security check or to pass on to your children. Best of all, it would
replace the empty promises of the current system with real assets of
ownership.

I have said repeatedly that all options are on the table for
strengthening Social Security, with the exception of raising the
payroll tax rate. I'm willing to listen to any good idea. And I will
work in good faith with members of Congress from both parties on this
issue. Some in Washington want to deny that Social Security has a
problem, but the American people know better and you have the power to
determine the outcome of this debate.

I encourage all Americans, particularly our younger workers, who
have so much at stake, to ask your elected leaders what they intend to
do to keep the promise of Social Security alive in the 21st century.
Saving Social Security will not be easy, but if you make clear that you
expect your leaders to confront problems head on, not pass them on to
future generations, I am confident that we will put aside partisan
politics in Washington and meet our duty to you, the American people.